Malta: Information on what rights the government of Malta would grant to a citizen of Iraq recognized as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Malta: Information on what rights the government of Malta would grant to a citizen of Iraq recognized as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 1 May 1996, MLT23596.E, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab0574.html [accessed 3 August 2015]

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This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

A letter from the Director of Multilateral Affairs for the Government of Malta forwarded to the DIRB by the Consul General of Malta in Toronto states,

Malta's formal commitments under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees are circumscribed by a declaration made at the time of Malta's ratification of the Convention to the effect that nationals from any country outside Europe do not qualify in Malta as refugees under the relevant provisions of the Convention.

Any concession which Malta decides to give beyond the formal commitment arising by virtue of this declaration is purely discretionary (6 May 1996).

A letter to the DIRB from the Deputy Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ottawa further explains:

Malta maintains the geographical limitation to the 1951 Refugee Convention. Asylum applications under the UNHCR Mandate are decided by Branch Office Rome on a case-by-case basis. As a consequence of the geographical limitation, refugees recognized under the Mandate are in need of a resettlement solution since they are neither authorized to work, nor to settle in Malta.

There was an unprecedented influx of Iraqis into Malta [in] 1992 totalling some 900 persons. Resettlement departures from Malta took place during 1993 in a limited number for the United States, Canada and Australia (24 Apr. 1996).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Government of Malta, Director of Multilateral Affairs, Valetta, Malta. 6 May 1996. Letter forwarded to the DIRB by the Consul General for Malta, Toronto.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Deputy Representative, Ottawa. 24 April 1996. Letter faxed to the DIRB.

Copyright notice: This document is published with the permission of the copyright holder and producer Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). The original version of this document may be found on the offical website of the IRB at http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/. Documents earlier than 2003 may be found only on Refworld.